Mixed Berry Muffins

Will be sharing about these delicious muffins made with freshly ground whole wheat flour.

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So much to write about, so little time!

Have to dodge up to the store with the girls for a few things, then on to work tonight.  I can’t wait to post about our baking this morning.  I made homemade whole wheat berry muffins per the girls’ request.  They were so yummy!!  I took some pics and can’t wait to share.  Hope you’ll stop back by! 

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Potatoes & Eggs…quick, easy, good

Last night we had one of our breakfast favorites for dinner. Ken is usually not a breakfast for dinner kind of guy, but the girls and I LOVE this dish. I was in the mood for it, and I knew that when Ken saw our plates he would want his own! He did! A very simplified version of a spanish omelette that I once had when we were in Madrid. This dish has only 2 main ingredients, eggs and potatoes. I use extra virgin olive oil and butter on the skillet, as well as sea salt and pepper for seasonings. That’s it!

I am very fortunate to be able to purchase farm fresh, free-range eggs from a good friend. A bonus for my dish last night was that my grandparents brought me organic red and brown potatoes from their summer garden in Western North Carolina!! This meant I was able to leave the skin on! YES!!

This dish can be a bit tricky if you like your eggs a soft scramble like we do. Which is why I don’t make it in a traditional omelette style. I didn’t want any brown on the eggs, and I wanted them just cooked. Believe it or not, it does affect the texture. Timing, technique and heat are everything with this dish. Even the size of your skillet is important. I used a non-stick medium skillet, and made each person’s portion separately. Eggs cool quickly, so each portion is made to order.

I usually skillet fry the potatoes after I bake them….but since I was in a hurry tonight (we here hungry and had been on the boat all day) I diced the potatoes up really small (bite size), and boiled them like I was making mashed potatoes. After draining the potatoes, I heated up a bit of olive oil and browned these up with sea salt and pepper. I do this in my largest skillet. While the potatoes are browning, I prepare my eggs by whisking them in a bowl. I add a tablespoon or two of water and some sea salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are ready I put them aside. Then as I make each portion I butter my medium non-stick skillet, with the stove setting on about 6 or 7. The pan needs to be hot for the eggs to set on the bottom quickly, but not overly hot so they brown. Then I add a scoop of the potatoes scattered a bit in the pan and pour in a bit of the eggs (enough to coat the bottom plus whatever serving size you want). Quickly move the pan around so the eggs swirl around the edges. Add salt and pepper. Then scrape the eggs through the middle and turn the pan so more eggs from the top coat the bottom of the pan.

Keep scraping and turning the pan so that all eggs get contact with the heat. You have to work fast. Then start flipping and pull off of the heat when you get the consistency and doneness you like. For me it is almost immediately after I have flipped all the sections. Basically soft scrambled eggs. Pour onto a plate and butter your skillet for the next batch. Of course there are many options for add-ins here. But this version is our favorite. Eating each bite with some egg and potato in it. We also keep some skillet potatoes to eat on the side with ketchup.

Yummy….filling and easy! Especially if you have your potatoes baked up ahead of time. Stay tuned….my next post will be about my birthday dinner out at Grande’s Bella Cucina. It was very good, and we had a lot of fun! This was my first time taking pictures of my meals while out in public for the sole purpose of food blogging!

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My inspired lunch…YUM!

Wow…..is all I can say.  I thought and thought and thought.  After not having much time to be creative with my food this week, I really, really wanted a different and appealing lunch!  But I didn’t know what.  Time is always an issue with a 19-month old underfoot, but I don’t like to ever waste a meal.  Everything I eat….I want it to count, and I want to taste all the flavors.  I want to create something pleasing to all my senses, and then sit and savor

every.single.bite

This is what I came up with, and I will definitely be repeating it……quite frequently! 

Greek Pizza Bites
they were out-of-this-world good!!
As you can tell they were very simple to make. Just 4 ingredients!
~ Food Should Taste Good chips
~ Bertolli Tomato and Basil sauce
~ Feta cheese
~ Calamata olives

I kept trying to think what else I had on hand that I eat on pizza and kept drawing a blank. But ever since I picked up this feta cheese and my beloved calamata olives, I’ve been anxious to try them on something together (besides salad). I have been eating bits of feta and the olives together plain…..SO good!

Well after I ate…I realized my favorite vidalia onions would have been perfect diced up on top. What aren’t they good on?

I am also missing my fresh organic basil plant right now. That would have kicked it over the top! I cannot wait until growing season here in South Florida. We are somewhat opposite most of the country. Right now in South Florida it is too hot to grow anything. When late October rolls around I will probably be able to plant my seeds. Things like spinach, lettuce, peas, beans, scallions, garlic and all my fresh herbs do great here all winter. Can’t wait!!

I thought of my sun-dried tomatoes that I rehydrated about a month ago and packed in olive oil in the fridge. Are those still good? How long will they keep? I know if you add garlic or herbs they can grow mold and you are at the risk of botulism, but I only put them in straight extra virgin olive oil. Does anyone know?

And how I love mushrooms….all kinds….but am out of them right now. Those would have been amazing as well. Any other ideas on what you would add?

I had an interruption just as I was sitting down to eat these flavorful bites…and discovered that if you wait 15 minutes or so to eat them, the chips will get soggy! I gave those to the girls and made myself a fresh batch. I was wanting that *crunch*

Let me know if you try them. Obviously you can use any sauce or just tomatoes, not just the Bertolli. Bertolli Tomato and Basil just happens to be our favorite. No artificial stuff like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), and I get them BOGO free at Publix once a month. It’s soo good! Or plain ole’ tortilla chips….really this is a very flexible dish.

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They say it’s your birthday……

Yes, I share a birthday with Patriot Day!  9/11…..but being that I was born in 1970 I do believe it was MY birthday first.  Before this horrible tragedy happened on our soil.   I still have my remembrances during the week, but I have learned to reclaim MY day as my birthday again.  😉

I hope everyone is looking forward to a good weekend!  I am so glad it’s Friday.  I was actually born on a Friday.  Another strange thing, last night I got to bed super late as I worked a bit later than normal and had a couple errands on the way home.  So I actually laid down in bed 5 minutes before the time I was born 39 years ago.  I was born at 1:25am. 

So I don’t feel any older or different.  Probably because I’ve been anticipating this birthday for about 6 months now.  I cannot believe how close to 40 I am getting!!  I mean….wow!!  I still feel like my same self and if anything life just keeps getting better and better!! 

I’m looking forward to a date night “out” with my hubby tonight.  Most of our dates are at home…so I am super excited!  We are actually going to dinner where I work.  Serving all this good Italian food, and I haven’t been able to sample any of it yet.  I can’t wait to show Ken where I work, and everyone will have a chance to meet my handsome husband. 

And I’ll finally get a chance to try that “to die for” dark chocolate cake that I serve so often.  Two more bonuses of the meal:  a good friend of mine will be serving us and I get a 30% discount!  Can’t beat that!! 
They have a sunset menu that runs until 7:30 right now since we are out of season here in South Florida.  It is such a great deal!  $18.95 includes your glass of wine and salad!  They also bring out freshly made bruschetta and bread with the different olive oils. 

In some ways I feel like I’m actually doing research for my new job 😉  Can’t wait!

Then we are off to finally see Time Traveler’s Wife!!  We are both very excited about that. 

So as a new food blogger….I guess I’m supposed to bring my camera tonight so I can snap pictures of all the delicious food we eat.  I’m sure I’ll feel rather odd whipping out the camera, but I’m so inspired by everyone’s blogs I want to join in too! 

As far as cooking this week, not a whole lot has gone on here.  Tuesday and Thursday nights I worked so everyone had pasta here.  My oldest daughter Sarah (10) made it both nights…one night with penne noodles and one night with spaghetti.  Wednesday night we had AWANA so we just ate something quick that night. 

Hopefully I’ll get some inspiration soon and have some new things to share.  Just haven’t had the time this week.  Next week it will be time to get to Costco and Whole Foods again.  😉

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